Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon apparently violated his own office’s policy while announcing murder charges Wednesday against a Torrance man accused of killing a Roman Catholic bishop days earlier – in an ethical blunder that critics say could damage the integrity of the case.
During his press appearance on Ash Wednesday, answering a reporter’s question in Spanish, he said investigators had ample evidence against the suspect — including a confession.
“He admitted he had committed the murder,” Gascon said of the suspect, Carlos Medina, according to translations of his news briefing. “We recovered the firearm that we believe was used. We have other evidence — cameras and other things — that indicate that he was in the location that the murder took place.”
Medina is accused of gunning down Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell. The DA’s own policy handbook states that prosecutors are not allowed to discuss confessions, admissions or any other statements made by people they’re accusing of crimes because it could compromise the case.
LOS ANGELES DA GEORGE GASCON ANNOUNCES MURDER CHARGE AGAINST HOUSEKEEPER’S HUSBAND IN BISHOP’S KILLING
It comes from the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Legal Policies Manual, in the same section on communications to the media that bars prosecutors from discussing a suspect’s prior offenses, the identities of witnesses, victims and juvenile suspects, “inflammatory” statements that could jeopardize the suspect’s right to a fair trial and other sensitive information.
“It cannot be more simply stated, George Gascon is a DA who either doesn’t know the basic ethical rules that govern the agency he leads, or doesn’t care to follow them.”
The policy predates Gascon’s election but has remained in place as he updated other parts of the handbook.
A similar rule in the state bar’s code of professional conduct also bars prosecutors and defense attorneys from making comments that…
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